Kimmerle photography to be on display at the museum The photography of Chuck Kimmerle, University Photographer, will be on display at the North Dakota Museum of Art beginning June 30. This will be the first solo exhibition for the Grand Forks photographer. The artist reception and gallery talk will be held Tuesday, June 30, 6 p.m. Join us for music, wine and hors d’oeuvres. Kimmerle was born and raised in Minnesota, and has been a photographer for more than 20 years. He moved to Grand Forks in 1996 while working as a photojournalist. His subsequent travels throughout the rural areas of the plains gave him an appreciation for the intricacy of the landscape, and the motivation for this ongoing project. The exhibit, titled "The Unapologetic Landscape," explores the unique features, both agricultural and natural, which adorn the northern plains of North Dakota and western Minnesota, giving the place an aesthetic value and unique personality, so easily overlooked. Kimmerle states, “This area, devoid of the natural grandiosity preferred by the majority of destination seekers, is more often traveled through than intentionally visited. At first glance, it looks dull, mundane. However, I have gained an intense appreciation of, and affection for, the unique environmental elements – shelterbelts, crop rows, flat horizons, farmsteads, gravel roadways, and silence – that give this landscape its identity.” Kimmerle’s photographs are exclusively in black and white. The form and texture of the landscape are the defining characteristics of the photography, instead of the color. This straightforward approach helps to keep with the organized pastoral simplicity of the land. Kimmerle was a member of the Grand Forks Herald photo staff that was runner-up for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography. During that time, he contributed photos to the Museum’s publication, "Under the Whelming Tide," which depicts the devastating effects of the Grand Forks Flood of 1997. Kimmerle has also been a four time recipient of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Photographer of the Year from among the 3,000-plus colleges and universities internationally that make up the higher education professional organization. The North Dakota Museum of Art is located on Centennial Drive on the UND campus. The Museum hours are weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Museum Shop is open during these hours. There is no general admission for viewing exhibitions, visiting the Museum Shop or the Museum Café. -- Brian Lofthus, Assistant to the Director, North Dakota Museum of Art, blofthus@ndmoa.com, 777-4195